News

Berkeley community lobbies for return of fourth-grader forced back to Mexico

By Judith Scherr

For the Contra Costa Times

Posted:
03/20/2013 05:54:10 AM PDT

Updated:
03/20/2013 09:45:58 AM PDT

BERKELEY -- A history lesson on Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks came alive for Kyle Kuwahara, 9, his twin brother Scott and their friends in the fourth grade at Jefferson School when they were told in January that their classmate would not be allowed to return home to Berkeley.

Rodrigo Javier Diaz Guzman's family visited relatives in Mexico during the holidays but were stopped in Houston on their way back. Immigration officials forced them to return to Mexico, because their visas had expired.

Kyle came home from school and said, according to his mother, Mable Yee, "The kids are really mad in the class (that Rodrigo can't come back). We want to go have a rally; and we want to go on a hunger strike, like Martin Luther King."

Yee, a child of Chinese immigrants who grew up in Berkeley, jumped into action, calling lawyers, advocates, and city and school district officials. She created the organization "Bring Rodrigo Home -- Kids 4 Kids" and put together a website at www.bringrodrigohome.org. She is planning to take some of Rodrigo's classmates to Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress for Rodrigo and immigration reform.

At their Tuesday evening meeting, a unanimous Berkeley City Council approved a resolution calling on President Barack Obama, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Berkeley, to support the family's return.

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Before the vote, some 30 of Rodrigo's friends gathered at the public speakers' podium, armed with "Bring Rodrigo Home" placards. Kyle read a letter he wrote to the president, which said, in part: "In school we are learning about Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks who fought for people's rights. So what about Rodrigo's freedom? This is our time to stand up like Cesar Chavez, Yuri Kochiyama and Delores Huerta and fight for people's rights."

Also in the room, via Skype from Mexico, was the Guzman family, who thanked the council, supporters and children for their efforts.

Councilman Jesse Arreguin co-sponsored the resolution along with Kriss Worthington and Max Anderson. In an interview before the meeting, Arreguin said that though it was true that the family's visas did expire, "they are victims of a broad flawed policy." He said this is an example of why we need to fix the immigration system.

The family is not permitted to reapply for visas for five years, Yee said. Advocates advised her that the best chance of bringing back the family would be community support, which could pressure a member of Congress to write special legislation for the family's return.

In a video Skype interview from Mexico on Tuesday morning, Rodrigo's mother, Reyna Diaz, wiped away tears as she talked about how much she regretted having made the trip. She said her son, who was less than 2 years old when they came to the United States, had gotten excellent grades in Berkeley but was failing school in Mexico.

"He speaks English, but his classes are in Spanish," she said. "Every day he asks when we're going back home. He doesn't want to eat. It's very hard on him."

In Berkeley, Diaz cleaned houses, and her husband washed dishes. Now Rodrigo's father has found a job that pays just $350 a month; they're living with relatives and have spent the little savings they had.

Last week, a unanimous school board passed its own resolution calling on Congressional representatives and Obama to enact "a compassionate and logical federal immigration policy, that would enable all members of our community, including Rodrigo and his family as well as others in similar situations, to return to ... our schools and our community."

The resolution argued that it is not fair for children to be caught up in "political gamesmanship."

The board unanimously supported the resolution. "It's not just Rodrigo, but Rodrigo becomes the beacon for what else is happening and has been happening," School Board Member Beatriz Levya Culter said.

In a Skype call after school Tuesday afternoon, Rodrigo asked a reporter to thank his friends. "They're little," he said. "They're fourth-graders, but when they stand up to someone else, they're like adults -- like Martin Luther King when he was trying to help (saying) people shouldn't be judged for their color. He was helping many people -- that's what they're doing -- they're helping me."